Concorde is pleased to announce that Airlift AS of Norway has received EASA approval for ESTC 10044362 allowing for single and dual battery installations of Concorde’s Sealed Lead Acid RG-350 or RG-355 battery on Eurocopter AS350B, -BA, -B1, -B2 and B3 models. The ESTC is now available through Concorde Battery Corporation’s worldwide network of distributors.

Many cold weather and high cyclic operators have requested a Lead Acid option for use in Europe and Airlift has fulfilled this request with Concorde batteries. For conversions on a single battery installation ESTC 10044362 replaces the main 15 Ah nickel-cadmium battery with either the Concorde RG-350 or the RG-355 17 Ah Lead Acid batteries. If the aircraft has been modified with Eurocopter Service Bulletin 24.00.01 (starting in very cold weather) Airlift’s ESTC allows for the replacement of both Nickel-Cadmium batteries with Concorde RG-350 batteries.

RG-350 and RG-355 are TSO authorized and as such, have passed rigorous TSO C-173 testing for duty cycle, electrical performance, temperature extremes, shock/vibration and environmental requirements. Concorde’s valve regulated lead acid (VRLA) recombinant gas (RG®) absorbed glass mat (AGM) technology has been proven as reliable, durable and safe for over 30 years. Superior performance can be attributed to unique design features such as proprietary PolyGuard® separators (an additional layer of protection against shorting, unique to Concorde) robust plate construction, over the cell wall intercell connections for reduced internal resistance and a commitment to quality standards.

The advantages of converting from nickel-cadmium to Concorde’s RG® Series batteries include lower cost of acquisition, zero maintenance and reduced battery costs per flight hour. Concorde batteries do not require deep cycling to remove the “memory effects” seen in nickel-cadmium batteries, do not require water or electrolyte replenishment and have no risk of thermal runaway. With the benefit of RG® Series batteries shipping Hazmat Exempt, transportation is more cost effective regardless of whether shipping by land, sea or air.

Airlift AS, based at Forde Airport in Bygstad, Norway, is the largest North European domestic helicopter company and the sole Norwegian government contractor for search and rescue. The company is part of the Blueway Group and operates 16 of the group’s helicopters.

In addition to performing design and maintenance on its own helicopters, Airlift has also offered design, installation and maintenance services to other helicopter companies for over 20 years. Airlift AS is holder of an EASA Part 21 Subpart J approval as Design Organization (DOA). This includes approval of design changes related to avionics, electrical and interiors as well as changes and minor repairs related to aircraft structure.